


omen

by chiarascura



Series: overwatch ficlets [25]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Blood, Hurt No Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-23
Updated: 2017-04-23
Packaged: 2018-10-23 00:31:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10708380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chiarascura/pseuds/chiarascura
Summary: for anon who requested, "Soldier 76 accidentally calling Reaper "Gabriel" before he knew who who Reaper was behind the mask."





	omen

Soldier 76 hit the floor face first, dust rising up around him and exhaustion slamming into him harder than Reaper’s fists. Copper flooded his mouth; he opened his mouth to groan, and blood dribbled out. 

Their fight broke out in this abandoned warehouse at least an hour ago, and 76 had managed to elude the mercenary until now. He didn’t know what Reaper was doing here, but it didn’t matter. He was part of Talon, he had killed people for money and done unspeakable things, and 76 had to stop him.

He opened his eyes, and the corner of his visor had a spiderweb of cracks creeping along the side. Reaper’s feet were the only things in his line of vision. From his vantage point, it didn’t look like 76 would be able to do much about stopping the Reaper any longer.

“Get up.” 

76 coughed. His body wanted to, felt the imperative need to keep moving and never give up, but his mind, his soul just felt tired. 

The steel toed boot dug into his shoulder, rolling him onto his side. 76 pushed himself up with weak arms until he was on hands and knees. He spat the remaining blood onto the ground, and sat back on his knees.

Reaper stood above him, like death incarnate, and 76 thought, _ this is it _ .

There was no Overwatch to come save him. He’d been a vigilante for years, no one watching his back or coming to his aid, and he knew eventually this would be the end. He didn’t know it would be  _ Reaper _ , this Talon agent who’d hounded and harassed him, but it seemed appropriate.

The dead-eyed owl mask stared down at him. He recognized the death omen. Gabriel had been religious, and Jack had picked up a passing knowledge of some of the iconography.  If the owl was here now, it had followed him for some time. This must be it. 

76 had tried to push that part of him away, tried not to think about his life as Jack Morrison, tried to move on as this shell of a man until his body shut down and he was no good to the world any longer.

He didn’t have a time frame on this new life, but he’d hoped to do more good before leaving earth. 

Now, death had come for him. 

There was one silver lining, a slim one that wasn’t reassuring but was the only thing he could hold onto. Its reminder stared down at him. 

He sighed and tipped his head up to stared into the mask. He exhaled. “Gabriel.”

He closed his eyes and waited for the blow. Instead, he heard the mercenary growl, “What?”

“Kill me,” 76 said. “I never believed, but if you’re here to take me, Santa Muerte, so be it.”

Reaper said nothing. 76 opened his eyes, and Reaper stood completely still, mask tilted down towards him. 

“I’ll find Gabriel in the afterlife. If you’re here to take me, it must mean something.”

The shotguns in Reaper’s hands clattered to the ground, making 76 startle. That was the opposite of what he expected. He remained frozen as the seconds stretched out interminably.

When he spoke, it was on a breathy exhale. “No, you won’t. And no, it doesn’t.” 

76 frowned, once again surprised. “What?”

“ _ Gabriel _ isn’t waiting for you in the afterlife, Jack. He’s gone, but his soul is shredded. There’s nothing left of him.” Reaper closed the gap between them until he could touch 76’s chin with two clawed fingers, tilting his face up. “There’s only me.”

76’s jaw would have dropped if Reaper’s fingers hadn’t held him in place. The room around them faded, tilting below his knees on the concrete and 76 didn’t know which way was up. 

“You… What?” He shook the hand off his chin and sat back on his feet. He knew the words that Reaper said, but he couldn’t bring himself to understand. He didn’t want to put the pieces together because… “There’s only you? What does that mean?”

“It means,” Reaper growled, looming over 76 and casting him in shadow, “that he died in Zurich, and the only afterlife waiting for him is vengeance. The afterlife is to become an abomination. A monster. Death itself.” 

“Ga--” 76 choked. This was so much worse than he expected. 

He lifted shaky fingers to unclasp the buckles holding his mask in place, and dropped the cracked visor to the ground. All he could see were blurry shapes, but he tilted his head up to face the man standing in front of him. 

Reaper didn’t breathe, but 76 could hear something change that he couldn’t quite put a finger on. Cold, sharp points brushed against his cheek, gentle but dangerous. 76 knew these claws could gore him in seconds, but they were lighter than a breeze. His sightless eyes closed, and he resisted the urge to lean into it. “Gabriel,” he said. 

The name triggered something, and the claw twitched, tearing into his skin. 76 hissed, blood welled up, and he heard the now-familiar sound of Reaper dissolving into thin air.

He sat on the dirty floor long after Reaper left, blood streaming down his face and cracked visor abandoned on the ground.

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on tumblr [@janeclawsten](http://janeclawsten.tumblr.com/) for overwatch and dragon age and you can send me prompts too


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